My New Best Friend
by Nutmeg Loves Books
Summary: NOW TWO-SHOT about how James and Sirius met on the train. Remus also makes a brief appearance, as do Lily and Snape. This fits in with my Marauders Marauding story, but you don't have to read it. Canon.
1. September 1st

**Hello everyone! Yes, I am alive, and yes, I am posting a one-shot instead of working on the new chapter for Marauders Marauding. Sorry. I call it: procrastination. Dun dun DUN! Anyway, this is canon and goes with my Marauders Marauding story, but you don't have to read that to read this. Thanks for reading!**

 ***DISCLAIMER* 1) Harry Potter and friends are not mine 2) Anything you see underlined (other than the title of this one-shot) belongs to J.K. Rowling. She wrote it. Not me. Don't sue please.**

 **How James Met Sirius**

James tiptoed lightly down the hardwood floor, his heart pounding in his chest as his sock-clad feet noiselessly crept around a corner. A long, but thankfully quiet, creek sounded as he stepped near the stairs. James froze, eyes and ears straining to find if anyone had heard. Nothing. Carefully, he stepped forward, the floor giving one last little creek of protest as he silently slipped toward the Master Bedroom.

There! The fancy doorknob was easy to open without a sound, and James was confronted with the sounds of two people peacefully asleep and the smell of his parents' room. Undeterred by the state of his prey, indeed, he had expected this, James crept forward. His father, tall and strong, though with a few gray hairs showing over his receding hairline, was far off to one side with a pillow pulled over his face. On the other side, his mother: tangled red hair streaked with gray and smile wrinkles around her eyes. James felt no pity or remorse for what he was about to do.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up! It's September first! I go to Hogwarts in four and a half hours!" James yelled as loud as he could, simultaneously jumping on the middle of the bed. "C'mon, hurry up! I want to eat some breakfast! The sooner we eat, the sooner we can go!"

James' dad groaned pitifully. "I can't wait to get rid of this little menace. What say you, Dorea?"

"Nothing but agreement here. I do believe he deserves some punishment for waking us up so early, don't you dear?"

"Oh yes," his dad agreed. James gulped. His dad had a mischievous look in his eye. "Perhaps he should be disciplined with a… PILLOW FIGHT!"

James screamed and tried to duck as his dad swung a thick and heavy pillow at his head. No use. Instead, he stole another pillow and began to fend off attacks from his dad, getting in some good hits for himself as well, ignoring his mother's admonitions to be careful.

"Alright, truce! Truce!" his mother finally called over the fighting. James got in one last sneak attack before turning to listen to her. "Now, we're going to go downstairs and eat breakfast like semi-civilized people, alright? Good."

James and his dad exchanged a glance, sighed, and left the pillows and tangled blankets behind. "I'm too old for this," his dad groaned as he rolled out of bed, but with the promise of breakfast, James' stomach informed his brain that it would, in fact, like some food, and he raced down the stairs and stumbled into his chair at the big dining table in record time. His parents followed at a much more leisurely pace.

"You took _forever_ ," James complained. "Can we eat now?"

"Of course, dear," his mum smiled. "Twilly!"

At her call, a strange little creature appeared with a _crack!_ It was very short, only coming up to James' waist, and he was short for his age. If one looked closer, it had large, bat-like ears, and a few hairs growing off the top of its head. It wore a clean blanket toga-style, with a Potter crest emblazoned on its small chest. James, so used to this creature that it did not startle him - it had been there as long as he could remember - ordered breakfast.

"Twilly, I'll have two scrambled eggs, some sausage, two pieces of toast with jam, and orange juice." After his parents placed their orders as well, the house-elf gave a happy nod and disappeared back to the kitchen. It wasn't long until the three were happily eating at the large dining table meant for twelve, a small chandelier hanging overhead.

"Do you have your school supplies packed yet, young man?" James' mum asked over her eggs. James shrugged.

"It's all in piles on my floor, at least. I thought you could help me fit it all, since I've never packed a whole trunk before?" he phrased it as a question, and looked at his mother hopefully. His puppydog eyes didn't fail him often, and neither did they fail now.

"Alright," his mother sighed, giving in to the power of the puppydog eyes, "but you'll be packing after Christmas, mark my words!"

"'Course mum," James smiled at her charmingly and raced back to his room. The blue walls were nearly completely covered with quidditch posters, and a large Gryffindor banner was hung from the far wall. A huge window opposite the door showed the branches of an excellent climbing tree with a magical swing hanging from it.

James shut the door and turned around. On this side of the door was a mirror. He frowned. His messy black hair - inherited from his dad - was even messier than usual, all sticking up and to the right except for one lone strand that stuck out to the left. At least his round glasses looked straight over his nose, but if they _were_ straight then that meant his eyes were crooked. James tried tilting his head, hazel eyes looking intently at their reflection. Now his eyes were straight but his glasses were crooked. James frowned and gave up, turning back to his room.

On the floor, as promised, were his trunk, piles of robes, cloaks, pants, shirts, two pairs of shoes, all of James' school supplies, and bathroom items. James' eyes wandered over to the old toy chest, but that would have to wait until his mother was done packing everything else. Maybe he could just go over and…

James was halfway across the room when his door opened and his mum came in. He jumped, whirled around, and tried not to look guilty. Luckily, she was looking at the supplies on the floor and not at her still-guilty-looking son.

"Alright, Jamie, trainers go on the bottom. You ought to know that. Now after that we'll put in things you won't use as much, like this rain coat. You'll want your textbooks near the bottom as well because they're so heavy, but put some clothes underneath so you don't go digging through all of them looking for your books on the first day. We don't want them all wrinkled and dirty before you even wear them!"

James rolled his eyes. "Mum, they're _robes_! No one but you can even tell if they're wrinkled or not!"

"Of course they can, Jamie. You just don't care enough to look for it."

James sighed, sat on the bed, and let her continue her packing. She seemed to have forgotten to make him help, so James knew he could even pull the 'not-knowing-how-to-pack-a-trunk' excuse again after Christmas. It was too easy!

Finally, his mother was done packing. "Finish getting ready for the day, Jamie. We leave in an hour. Merlin knows we had plenty of time since you woke us up so early!" She closed the door behind her.

An _hour_. A whole _hour_ with nothing to do but brush his teeth and fix his hair (to the extent that it could be fixed) and… well, important things first. James headed over to the old dusty toy chest that he hadn't used since he was five - as far as his parents knew anyway- and dug around inside. Stuffed rabbit… no… moving toy soldiers… no… finally he found what he was looking for. James carefully unzipped what used to be a carrying bag for a baby broom. The broom itself had broken a long time ago when he was four and tried to use it to carry himself and a bag of ever-falling confetti onto the roof. Instead, safely tucked inside the bag were the supplies his dad had secretly gotten him for his birthday: several packages of TURDs (Traitorously Unsuspicious Rainbow Drops), several cannons of ever-falling confetti, permanently sticky silly string, and several other important supplies. On a whim, he also grabbed _Jumbled Jinxes: Non-Permanent Spells with Style_ in case he ever made any enemies.

James carefully tucked all of the pranking supplies into his trunk, making sure to spread them under the top layer of school robes in case his trunk was inspected by his mum. He even put a confetti cannon inside of his hat. That done, James went about the rest of his morning getting ready to board the Hogwarts Express. He hoped to Merlin that he found a friend who liked tricks as much as he did.

Finally, it was time to head over to King's Cross. Since his dad was Head Auror, James and his parents got to take their own ministry car out to the station. James' owl, Otis the Feathered, began hooting inexplicably halfway there. Needless to say, they were all quite glad to get out of the car when they finally arrived. Otis stopped hooting when a small mouse scampered out from under one of the seats and dashed away. James stuck out his tongue at the owl and followed his parents to the barrier.

"You walk through here to get to platform 9 ¾," his dad said. It seemed like he was talking a little louder than strictly necessary, but James just shrugged it off as excitement. He raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, now how do I really get through?"

"Just what I said! You only have to walk through the wall, right Dorea?" James' dad held up his hands innocently and looked pleadingly at Mum.

"He's telling the truth, Jamie," she backing him up. Okay then. James' mother hadn't played a trick like this on him once, so it must be the real thing. "If you're nervous, it might be better to go quickly."

"I'll try," James said doubtfully. He hesitantly began walking toward the barrier, picking up speed quickly until he was running and his trolley was out of control. Otis the Feathered hooted in fear and James closed his eyes, ready for a crash-

Nothing. James opened his eyes and ready a sign overhead: **Platform 9 ¾.** He'd made it.

"Welcome to platform 9 ¾!" Dad said, coming up behind him. It appeared to be a large station just like any other, except that the huge scarlett engine was billowing steam so much that James could hardly see more that three meters (10 feet) in front of him. Behind them, what sounded like a muggleborn and their family entered the platform. James suddenly realised why his dad had been talking louder than normal at the platform: that family must have been nearby, unsure of what to do.

"Alright, Jamie," his mum said, "don't get into trouble with those infernal pranks you always seem to play. Do your best to get good marks, because I _know_ you are capable of doing well if you try. We've given you 23 sickles* for the train, but don't you dare spend it all at once!" Suddenly she pulled him into the tightest hug James had ever had. "We'll miss you, Jamie," she whispered tearfully, "take care of yourself."

James, though he would never admit it, hugged her back just as tightly. It was starting to sink in that he wouldn't be seeing his parents for nearly four whole months. "I will." Owls and indistinct murmuring filled his ears in the pause, and James wondered how many other families were also saying goodbye right then.

His dad slapped him on the back, and placed his hands on James's shoulders when his mum finally let go, kneeling down so they were eye-to-eye. "I love you, son." James nodded. "Now go have fun. Don't get caught too many times or your mother will kill both of us. Please keep that in mind." James nodded once again. "Don't forget to watch out for Slytherins - especially those Blacks. They're a nasty family the lot of them, probably followed by the Malfoys. Don't let them corner you anywhere because they're always up to no good. If I had any proof I'd have them locked away for supporting the Voldemort fellow I told you about two weeks ago." James kept nodding, hoping that his dad would let him go. The man chuckled, obviously aware of James' impatience. "Now off with you, so your poor old parents can have some peace!" his dad smiled.

"Bye dad!" James grinned himself and ran to put his trolley away before all the good spots were taken. Not that he knew where the good spots were, but it was the principal of the thing.

As he rushed off to the train, James spotted another figure heading the same direction as him. Unable to stop, James called out a warning. It was too late. He crashed into the figure, who turned out to be a boy about his age, though taller than him and with impeccable robes and unruffled hair. At least, it would have been neat and unruffled if they hadn't just crashed into each other and landed sprawled in a heap.

"Sorry!" both boys cried at the same time. James dragged over a large black trunk that said 'Sirius' on the handle in a fancy script. This was a rich kid if he ever saw one, not that James could judge, as he was guilty of the same thing. Still, it might be one of the evil purebloods from Slytherin he had heard about.

"Who're you?" James asked.

"I'm Sirius. Are you a first year too?"

"Yeah, the name's James. James Potter." James stuck out his hand to shake. The other boy happily did, so James decided that he couldn't be too bad. After all, there weren't many people who hadn't heard of the Potters, or that they were on the side of light.

"Good to meet you," Sirius smirked. "Care to find a compartment?"

"Sounds good to me. Do you know where the best place to sit is?"

"My cousins say they like the front," Sirius began.

"So we should head up there?" James didn't want his new friend to miss out on something because of him.

"Actually, I was thinking the very back. My cousins are all girls and they hate me, so the farther from them we are the better."

"Alright then." James was a little confused about the whole thing, but he and Sirius headed toward the back of the train. All the compartments seemed to be pretty full except for one with a red-headed girl.

"Can we sit here?" James asked. She shrugged and turned toward the window. Talk about being polite…

Sirius flopped down on one of the seats without a care and James sat across from him. "So…" he said, "did you hear that quidditch game on the radio, Ireland vs. Wales? I can't believe they had such a come-from-behind game!"

"No!" James groaned, "That's what the paper said, but I missed the ending! I thought for sure Ireland would win, too. I heard the beginning up until Ireland was up 130 to 60, but then my mom changed it for one of her stupid shows!"

"What? But that was right before the best part! The announcer was trying to say Taggins and Borngin really fast and mixed it all up; it was hilarious. He was stuttering over it for like two minutes before he got back to the game."

"Taggins and Bornghn," James tried. "Tanggins and Born- Tag-ig and Borin… wow. That's harder than it sounds," James laughed. "How could my mom have turned it off just to hear the new song _I Love you Like a Love Potion_?"

"Gross!" Sirius cried.

James nodded with an air of great suffering. "It was horrible. I only just survived. But the worst was when, and I quote, ' _If I love you like that love potion, baby, and you love me too… I'll just take a little bit of motion, baby, give me all-_ ' hey stop! Help!"

Sirius had covered James' mouth with his hand. "Never ever say or sing those lyrics again. I have been mentally scarred for life as it is."

James nodded. "Deal," he said when Sirius cautiously removed his hand. Another boy had come into the compartment during the song fiasco, but James didn't pay much attention until he heard the words "You'd better be in Slytherin."

"Slytherin?" The red-headed girl perked up a bit. James jerked his head up at the word and stared at the other first years. Wasn't Slytherin the house of evil snakes? Who in their right mind would want to go _there_? He wrinkled his nose.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked Sirius, who was once againlounging on the seats opposite him. Sirius did not smile.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.

"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

The other boy, who had old patched robes that even _James_ could tell were wrinkled and greasy black hair that fell past his ears, but with none of the good looks that Sirius had, made a small noise that was something like a disdainful snort. James turned on him.

"Got a problem with that?" No one was going to insult his family's house or his dad while he was around.

"No," said the boy, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy - "

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter. _I'll have to remember that one,_ he thought to himself. The girl turned to them, her cheeks flushed with anger. James had never had anyone glare at him quite so strongly before, but he knew he was in the right here. No one good ever came from Slytherin, right?

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." The girl stood, taking 'Severus' with her.

"Oooooo…"

James imitated her in a high, lofty voice. "Let's go find another compartment!"

"No like this: come on, _Severus_! Let's go find another compartment! One for slimy snakes!" James laughed again and tried to trip Severus as he passed. Unfortunately, the other boy jumped over his foot, but James knew he could get him back later.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called after their retreating backs. The two new friends fell back laughing as the pair left.

"That was brilliant!" James grinned, holding his sides and hooting. "James and Sirius triumph over the Slimy Snakes! There's no way you'll get stuck with _them_ , mate."

"My mum's convinced otherwise," Sirius stated grimly. "My family's been in Slytherin for generations; there've only ever been a few exceptions."

"What if you got sorted into Ravenclaw? That wouldn't be too bad would it?" James could live with Ravenclaw if he had to, especially if his new friend was there as well. They could still beat snakes together.

"Well my mum wouldn't be too pleased, but it'd be better than Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. I don't know _what_ she'd say if I was in one of _them_."

"So you want to be in one of _them_ I take it?" James grinned wickedly, imagining what Sirius' apparently evil Slytherin family would say if he were in Gryffindor with James Potter…

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Give the boy a prize!" Sirius grinned, "Although I can never be sure. If I'm in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff my family will probably hate me. What would I do over the summer, you know?" A pensive look came over his face, vaguely concerned. James wondered how he would feel if his family wanted _him_ to be in Slytherin. Suddenly, Sirius seemed to notice someone else outside their compartment.

"Hey are you a first year too? Come in! I'm Sirius Black and this here is James Potter. We have been best mates for about…" He checked his watch. James wondered if it was the same as the one he had gotten for Christmas last year; they sure looked similar. "Sixteen minutes now! What's your name? What house do you want to be in when we get sorted? Please tell me you're not a stuck-up pureblood! The last people in here wanted to be in Slytherin, for Godric's sake! My family is all Slytherins and they're idiots, don't know why you'd want to be one."

The new kid was short and skinny. His skin was pale as if he spent a lot of time inside, and he looked like he could use a good night's sleep. His light brown hair hung flat over his eyes, and James thought he might see a little scar on the boy's chin. His curiosity peaked, but then he realised what Sirius had said.

"Really? You're one of _those_ Blacks? I wouldn't have thought so with you being so friendly. Oh well," he shrugged, turning back to the new boy. Sirius couldn't have been the kind of person James' dad had warned him about. At least, James didn't think so. "I'm James, like he said."

The boy shifted, as if he wasn't used to being the center of attention. "Hello. My name is Remus Lupin, and I wasn't stuck-up or a pureblood the last time I checked." James grinned happily. This kid had a sense of humor, he was sure of it. Now it was time to bring it out. James Potter liked nothing better than a challenge, and a little mystery wasn't going to go astray either. This was going to be one interesting year.

 **-END-**

* According to the website, in the late 20th century one sickle was worth about 0.29 pounds or about 0.59 US dollars. James' parents gave him about 6.67 pounds or $13.57

 **This has been: How James met Sirius! I kind of left it open in my other fic, and then I was wondering about it. After I realised that it was, in fact,** ** _my_** **fic, I figured I would just right down what I imagined happened. Leave a review to tell me what you thought!**

 **Keep reading and writing! ~Meg**


	2. Sirius Orion

**Um... hi? I know, I know, I should be writing for Marauders Marauding, but this just happened and I really liked it! I've been trying to focus more on school for the final stretch, but it's really hard so... yeah. My bad. No excuses, I know. Anyway, a few different people asked for a sequel or other POV to James' September 1, so here it is! :)**

 _-Sirius Orion Black-_

"Sirius Orion, a Black does not slouch at the table in such a manner," Lady Black hissed at her first-born. Said child sent his mother a small glare, but straightened his spine nonetheless. His face folded back into an emotionless mask as soon as Lord Black and his guests glanced his way. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the men turned back to their political debate. The boy, Sirius Orion, supposed he should be paying attention so that he could discuss the points with his father later without sounding like an imbecile, but he really didn't feel like listening at the moment; he was equally nervous and excited as he waited for the letter bearing his name that was surely, even at this moment, winging its way toward Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

The Black family had been on vacation in France for the past month. Thus, even though Hogwarts School started in only three days, the letter for Sirius Orion Black would doubtlessly be arriving any time now.

Regulus Arcturus, Sirius Orion's younger brother, twitched from his place next to his mother. No one noticed except for Sirius Orion himself, who glanced sharply at the younger boy who so resembled him. Catching his older brother's eye, Regulus Arcturus quietly said, "Would you pass the potatoes please?"

"Of course," Sirius Orion responded, graciously moving the fine dish closer to his younger brother before turning back to the Lady Black. "Mother, may I please be excused?"

"You may," she told him. _If you take your leave properly!_ was mouthed subtly, accompanied by a glare.

Sirius Orion heaved an undetectable sigh, a feat which had required lots of practice, and turned to the men of the room, who were still deeply discussing whether Dumbledore was trying to gain power for himself, or simply be a puppeteer from behind the scenes.

"Father, sirs," he said formally. They all turned to him. "I must now take my leave of this fine meal. Please excuse me. Thank you for the pleasure of letting my family host this meal for you." The child, stony-faced, gave a small, stiff bow. His father nodded his head, as did his guests.

"Thank you for the honor of hosting us," the the guests said properly. Sirius Orion nodded graciously, turned on his heel, and left the room.

As soon as the door was closed, the boy hesitated, glanced back, and then broke into a furious sprint for his bedroom on the third floor. He silently dashed up the stairs, and flung the door open. A grin split his face. Sirius caught the owl that Reggie had seen from his spot at the table, which had the best view of the window, and carefully pulled off the Hogwarts letter that he knew was on its leg. _Jackpot._

Sirius and his brother had cooked up the signal as soon as their mother had told Sirius that he would have to stay at the supper table instead of eagerly waiting for his letter. "A Black is assured of his position," she had said, "he does not wait eagerly or hoot improperly when he receives the letter he is entitled to." Just to spite that memory, Sirius hooted as improperly as he could. Good thing there were silencing charms covering all the bedrooms.

And now… well, there was no way that Sirius could sit still in his room like a good little boy _now_. This letter called for a celebration! A wicked grin appeared on his face as he contemplated the best way to exhibit his joy over the Hogwarts letter. Making mother mad might be a good start…

It wasn't long before Sirius was back downstairs outside of the formal dining room. His family and his father's guests were still inside, discussing politics that Sirius couldn't care less about no matter how much his father tried to pound them into his head. He slid to the floor and put his ear to the crack between the door and the ground. The discussion hadn't lulled, and it sounded like the men would be here for a good while longer. Perfect.

Silent as a cat, Sirius rose back to his feet and ghosted down the hallway. He tiptoed down some steps that were less ornate than the rest of the house, and finally arrived at a simple wooden door. He briefly wondered if the snobbish and proper Lady Black had ever set foot down here. Probably not. But that didn't mean her son couldn't.

He slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open a crack, then cursed as softly as he could. Kreature, their ugly bald house-elf, was in the kitchen preparing dessert. Despite his elderly appearance, Sirius knew the elf to be annoying and very adept and finding loopholes when he wanted. Plus, Kreature had always hated Sirius for the pranks that Sirius loved to play. How was he going to get past?

Then it hit him. Kreature would go upstairs to serve the dessert. It would take the elf a maximum of a minute or two to bring the giant dessert pudding up to the table and then return to the kitchen, but it was an opening. Tense and quivering with the thrill of misbehaving, Sirius waited and watched. He hated waiting.

Finally Kreature gathered up the awkwardly sized pudding and the dessert china, levitating them around him and disappearing with a _Crack!_ This was it.

Sirius dashed inside. He knew what he was looking for. He gracefully avoided the sharp corners and edges that permeated the kitchen, heading quickly for the storage cupboard near the oven. There! The boy reached inside, hands groping for the bag that he knew was there. When he found it, Sirius made a quick about-face and tried to dash back behind the door unnoticed.

Instead, his fancy shoes slipped across the floor and he fell head over heels, scraping his knees through his silk dress pants. Sirius hadn't planned for a stupid expensive clothes delay. Still, he got up quickly and managed to slam the kitchen door behind him just as the crack of Kreature's return echoed through the kitchen. He had made it. Sirius' face split into a wide smile as he tried to catch his breath.

He wasn't done yet.

The heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black crept over to the impressive double doors of his own family's formal dining room. He opened his bag and watched the precious contents begin to waft into the air already.

He took out his wand and whispered the incantation for the fanning charm that his tutor had taught him at the beginning of the summer when he had complained about being hot. A white cloud rose from the bag and through the large, ornate keyhole of the door. Sirius directed it up until the cloud was hovering at the ceiling and the bag was empty. Then he canceled the charm.

White, powdery flour fell from the ceiling like snowflakes in summer. It was beautiful to watch, his family members' black hair slowly becoming frosted with white, his father's guests becoming paler and paler without their noticing.

Until Reggie sneezed.

"What is this?" Lord Black spluttered, staring at the film that covered the horrendously expensive wine in his goblin made glass.

"It's everywhere!" his wife screeched.

"A snowstorm!" Reggie laughed, trying to catch the powder on his tongue. Instead, he sneezed again, before schooling his face back into a mask at his mother's glare.

"It's… flour?" Lord Malfoy stated it like a question, but by then there was no doubt in anyone's mind.

"Why did flour start falling from your ceiling, Orion?" Lord Scabior wrinkled his nose. Sirius snickered.

The esteemed Lady Black's face began to purple. "SIRIUS ORION! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" she bellowed.

Sirius made sure to wait a reasonable time before entering, so it looked as if he had come all the way from his room. His poker face back in place, he became the proper Sirius Orion once more.

"You called mother?" he asked. His mother's eyes flashed as he pretended to take in the scene for the first time. "Are you aware that there appears to be white powder in your hair?" He added, straight-faced.

"Sirius Orion, you are the only one in this house who was not in the dining room at the time of this… debauchery. Explain yourself this instant!" she thundered.

Sirius gave her his best innocent eyes while keeping the rest of his face expressionless. It was harder than it sounded. "Why, Mother, I was in my room collecting my Hogwarts letter. However could I have caused this mess?"

"Return to your room," Lord Black hissed through clenched teeth. "You will be dealt with later. If it truly was you, Sirius Orion, I hope your brother has found a much better example to follow."

Sirius, used to such insults by now, simply nodded stiffly, bowed to the guests, and exited the room one more.

He waited until he was all the way in his room with the door closed before losing it, laughing so hard that he crumpled onto the bed, unable to support himself any longer. _The looks on their faces…!_ Sirius thought that was worth whatever punishment he got. He went to Hogwarts in three days. What could they do?

 _-Sirius Orion Black-_

"I will be accompanying you to the train station, Sirius Orion. Your father is busy at the Ministry and it is not proper to Regulus Arcturus to be present there before it is his time to attend the School. You will behave properly. You will sit in the front of the train with your cousins. You will be sorted into Slytherin House." Lady Black gave what passed for a smile. "You will make your family proud."

Sirius gulped and nodded, careful to hide his fear. What if he _was_ just like his family? He didn't want to be a perfect Slytherin Prince! They didn't get to have any fun. Sirius hadn't even told Reggie, but there was no way that he was going to listen to all his mother's lessons about pride and superiority before he even met a mudbl- er, muggleborn.

"You will not fidget, you will not fear, you will uphold the honor of House Black. And most importantly, you _will not take part in any pranks!_ Am I clear, Sirius Orion?"

"Yes ma'am."

Sirius Orion, the outside picture of a proud Black scion, arrived at King's Cross station several minutes before the train was set to leave for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had said his official goodbyes to his younger brother, Regulus Arcturus, before leaving his home with his mother, the Lady Black.

The real, teary, unofficial goodbye had happened secretly early in the morning, before the Lady Black got wind of it.

"I'm going to miss you, Sirius," Regulus had whispered sadly in the dark confines of Sirius' bedroom.

"I'll write all the time Reggie. Promise." Sirius crossed his heart, even though he knew Regulus couldn't see him. "I'll tell you all about the houses and the ghosts and the teachers and everything!"

"But you won't be _here_!"

Sirius grabbed his brother's hand and squeezed it tightly. Even in secret meetings, proper Blacks didn't touch, much less hug, each other often. "I'll be back for holidays, Reggie. And it won't be long before you come too."

Sirius thought he heard a sniffle next to him. Carefully, he reached over and put an arm around Reggie's shoulders. "I love you, Reggie."

"I love you too."

The Lady Black didn't know anything about that little conversation, and if Sirius had his way there would be a lot more meetings and pranks that she didn't know anything about. For starters, he knew that the Potters, one of the lightest families he could think of, had their only son coming to Hogwarts this year too. He was likely stuck up and snobby, having been raised the only heir to a huge fortune, but Sirius would be able to deal with that if it annoyed his mother as much as he thought it would.

As he was thinking his rebellious thoughts, the Lady Black was giving a no doubt heartwarming and emotional talk to her eldest son. It was also, undoubtedly, a complete show for any onlookers hoping to get some information on the infamous House of Black. Sirius started a bit as his mother briefly grasped his shoulder and bit him farewell.

"Goodbye," he mumbled, suddenly struck for the first time by the crowds of people that pressed in around him.

"Get on the train before you're late." were his mother's last words before she turned on her heel and walked back toward the floo where they had arrived.

 _What time was it?_ Sirius couldn't see the clock over the heads of the crowd around him. Completely forgetting about the shiny new watch in his pocket, Sirius rocketed off toward the train, just in case it was about to leave without him. Picking up speed, Sirius couldn't bring himself to a stop near quick enough when someone called out a warning.

CRASH!

"Sorry!" Sirius cried on a reflex, scrambling to pick up the fallen items from the two trollies. He pushed an unfamiliar, but definitely expensive, trunk over to the other boy, and got a good look at his face for the first time.

The other boy was shorter than him and a bit scrawny, with wild black hair that stuck up in a way that reminded Sirius of the time his family's owl had flown through a wind storm. He also had small round glasses perched on his nose.

"Who're you?" the boy asked, inquisitive hazel eyes blinking up at him.

"I'm Sirius," said Sirius, deciding to keep his last name out of the picture for as long as possible. "Are you a first year too?"

"Yeah, the name's James. James Potter." Sirius grinned. _Perfect!_ _He will annoy mother, is from a family of Gryffindors, and doesn't even seem like a bad guy!_ James stuck out his hand to shake. Sirius happily obliged.

 _-Sirius Orion Black-_

 **That's a wrap! Please let me know what you think in a review :):) Do you want a Peter-shot as well? Remus has kinda been taken in the other story, but I guess I could elaborate on that to if you want... Thanks for reading!**

 **Always keep reading and writing! ~Meg**


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